The Strong Man…

There once was a man who was impressively strong. He could lift incredibly heavy objects with ease. He could bend seemingly unbendable metal beams. Scores of people were often amazed by his feats of strength. As he displayed his brawn, two people watched him. The first person thought to themself, “I want to be like that.” That person worked hard, maintained a disciplined workout routine, ate well, slept well, and did everything within their power to become strong, themself. The other person thought to themself, “I could never be like that. Being so strong is dumb, anyway. That person was probably born that way. Life is so unfair.”

There once was a man who was incredibly wealthy. He was successful in business, had multiple houses and cars, and employed hundreds of employees. As he continued to build his wealth, two people watched him. The first person thought to themself, “I want to be like that.” That person started by being faithful with what they had, put in an honest day’s work each day, saved what they could, and focused on making wise financial decisions. The other person thought to themself, “What a selfish, greedy person that employer is. How many houses and cars does a person need?! That person was probably born wealthy. Life is so unfair.”

There once was a man who had an amazing family. He had a wife that he was committed to and loved dearly, and he had children who adored him and whom he loved more than life, itself. As he lived his life, two people, both from broken homes, watched him. The first person thought to themself, “I want a life like that. Even though my parents did not stay together, I know that having a family is good, and right, and the path to true human flourishing. I’m going to be the kind of person I would want to marry, and I’m going to find a person that I can pledge my life to.” The other person thought to themself, “Marriage is dumb. Kids will just get in the way of my plans for my life. If my parents couldn’t stay together, how could I trust another human to stay committed to me? And why would I commit myself when a better opportunity could come along any moment?”

There once was a wealthy businessman who had an amazing family and a beautiful home. He was unfaithful in his marriage and immoral in his business. Because of his poor, reckless decisions, he lost his family, his home, and his job. After all of this, he began to go to church. Two people who knew of his background watched him enter the church. The first person thought to themself, “Wow! If a guy like THAT can find mercy, grace, and acceptance at church, then maybe I can find mercy, grace, and acceptance at church, too!” The other person thought to themself, “That church is full of hypocrites! They claim to follow God, and all of His rules, but then they go and let someone like THAT in! I would NEVER associate with people like that.”

There once was a man who was murdered at a public speaking event by someone who couldn’t persuasively debate him, so he snuck onto a rooftop and shot him, instead. Though this tragic death left behind a widow and two small children, the dead man’s wife publicly forgave the shooter. Many people watched. Some people thought, “Wow! Only the love of Christ, and the awareness of what He did for ALL of us on the cross could compel someone in such pain to offer such forgiveness!” Other people thought, “I could never forgive someone like that, and I’m sure her forgiveness is fake, too. In fact, she’s just pretending to forgive in order to score political points. What a terrible person!”

It seems pretty obvious to me that we are living in a moment of decision. We have all been watching the same things, but we are not all making the same applications.

When we see strength, or success, or goodness, or forgiveness, it should stir us up and cause us to hope, and to take action to become better people, ourselves.

Unfortunately, too many people look at beauty not with hope, but with hate. While hope brings light to the world, hate poisons the human heart, and brings only darkness.

When someone who is so filled with hate sees a true act of love and charity—such as extending forgiveness to someone who absolutely does not deserve it—the hate-filled person is forced to make a decision whether to realize and admit that they are wrong, or to double-down and demonize the person who made them question themselves to begin with.

This moment could be a turning point. We don’t have to be the same person tomorrow that we were yesterday. What kind of person do you want to be? Choose to be that person today.

The great CS Lewis (who, interestingly enough, died on the same day that JFK was assassinated) once said:

“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world it’s pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistake. We’re on the wrong road. And if that is so we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.”